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1. Introduction. Challenges to Political Representation in Contemporary Chile

Author:
Rossana Castigliono and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Democratic representation seems to be increasingly under stress in various established democracies, such as Greece, Spain, and the USA. Chile is also following this trend, but there are a number of partic- ularities that make the Chilean case distinctive. After all, Chile is widely regarded as one of the most consolidated democratic regimes in Latin America and as having solid economic performance. However, citizens have shown decreasing levels of satisfaction with democracy and repre- sentative institutions, and are turning to protest and social mobilization to express their discontent. The paradox that Chile is facing today lies in the mismatch between the attitudes of voters and the overall perfor- mance of the regime. In explaining this intriguing puzzle, most of the literature has emphasized the legacy of institutional arrangements inher- ited from military rule. We argue that institutions are necessary but insuf- ficient for explaining the increasing challenges that democratic represen- tation faces. Thus, we also claim that it is necessary to consider not only the expansion of critical citizens and middle income earners, but also the repoliticization of inequalities.
Topic:
Democracy, Inequality, Citizenship, Representation, and Middle Class
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

2. Parties under Stress: Using a Linkage Decay Framework to Analyze the Chilean Party System

Author:
Jana Morgan and Carlos Melendez
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom suggests Chile’s party system is highly institutionalized. However, recent declines in participation and partisan- ship have begun to raise questions about this veneer of stability. This article assesses the current state of the Chilean party system, analyzing its ability to provide linkage. We specify a theoretical framework for identi- fying challenges to linkage and constraints on necessary adaptation. We then use this framework to evaluate linkage in the contemporary Chilean system, emphasizing how its representational profile has changed since the democratic transition. The analysis suggests the two partisan coali- tions no longer present clear policy alternatives and programmatic repre- sentation increasingly depends on policy responsiveness and relics of old ideological divides. Significant institutional constraints impede parties’ ability to incorporate demands from emerging social groups, and clien- telism remains a complementary but not core linkage mechanism. This evidence indicates that while representation in Chile has not yet failed, the system contains serious vulnerabilities.
Topic:
Democracy, Participation, and Party System
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

3. Crisis of Representation in Chile? The Institutional Connection

Author:
Peter M. Siavelis
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article analyzes the challenges to democratic representa- tion in contemporary Chile, with an institutional focus. I argue that the post-authoritarian model of politics was deeply constrained by institu- tions and practices inherited by democratic authorities and reinforced by the model of transitional politics and its series of informal institutions, which first facilitated, but then hindered democratic performance. While this does not point to a regime-threatening crisis, there are deep chal- lenges to representation and a desire for a different model of politics that is more capable of resolving conflicts and satisfying citizen demands. I posit that, until now, Chile’s formal and informal institutions have privi- leged stability over representation, accountability, and legitimacy. Conse- quently, it has fallen to social movements to set the agenda for change aimed at addressing Chile’s deeper problems of political and social ine- quality. I argue that institutional reforms are a necessary, yet insufficient, antidote to current challenges of representation.
Topic:
Democracy, Representation, and Legitimacy
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

4. Current Issues on the Political Representation of Middle Classes in Chile

Author:
Emmanuelle Barozet and Vicente Espinoza
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
n this article, we analyze the impact that the evolution of the middle classes has had on political representation in Chile. Based on a description of the transformations of Chilean social structure in recent decades, we review the conceptual frameworks available on the subject, from modernization theories and the rise of new masses – particularly the one that “emerged” from poverty – to the forming of new critical citizens. We state that the heterogeneity of Chilean middle classes has challenged the discredited representation system. We observe more effi- cient representation channels developing for medium-high-income, edu- cated, and consolidated sectors in contrast to new social policy demands from emerging and vulnerable sectors, focusing more on consolidating their economic status than on improving representation channels.
Topic:
Democracy, Representation, and Middle Class
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

5. Re)Politicizing Inequalities: Movements, Parties, and Social Citizenship in Chile

Author:
Kenneth M. Roberts
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
For 20 years following the 1989–1990 democratic transition, Chilean politics was characterized by stable forms of party-based political representation, relatively low levels of social mobilization, and a techno- cratic consensus around a neoliberal development model that generated rapid and sustained, albeit highly unequal, patterns of economic growth. This sociopolitical matrix was challenged, however, when hundreds of thousands of students and their supporters took to the streets to protest against educational inequalities, while smaller numbers of protestors mobilized around a plethora of other labor, environmental, and indige- nous rights claims. This wave of social protest occurred in a context of growing detachment of Chilean citizens from traditional parties and representative institutions, and it punctured the aura of inevitability and consensus that surrounded the country’s economic model. The ground- swell of popular protest signified the end of a posttransition political era in Chile and the dawning of a new one defined by the repoliticization of social and economic inequalities, including vigorous debates about the social pillars of the neoliberal model and the reach of social citizenship rights. The Chilean case sheds new light on the processes by which ine- qualities come to be politicized or depoliticized in different structural, institutional, and ideational contexts.
Topic:
Social Movement, Inequality, Citizenship, and Political Parties
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

6. Democracy and Student Discontent: Chilean Student Protest in the Post- Pinochet Era

Author:
Peter M.M. Cummings
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Objective indicators suggest that economic and political con- ditions improved in Chile between the country’s democratization in 1990 and 2011. Average incomes increased, poverty rates decreased, and the number of positive reviews of Chilean democratic institutions rose. De- spite this progress, massive student-led protest waves in 2006 and 2011 demonstrated high levels of subjective discontent in Chile. This paper proposes a three-part explanation for the paradoxical emergence and escalation of the post-Pinochet-era Chilean student protests, and, in so doing, contributes to the broader understanding of social movements and political action. The first two parts of the argument relate to genera- tional change. Firstly, a gap between expectations and capabilities pro- voked discontent amongst a new generation of Chilean students. Sec- ondly, the new generation’s collective identity as “la generación sin miedo” (the fearless generation) motivated the students to turn discontent into political action. Thirdly, government and student actor agency influenced the variance in protest strength between 2005 and 2011.
Topic:
Democracy, Protests, State Building, and Students
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

7. Latin American Political Outsiders, Revisited: The Case of Marco Enríquez-Ominami in Chile, 2009n Political Outsiders, Revisited: The Case of Marco Enríquez-Ominami in Chile, 2009

Author:
Kenneth Bunker and Patricio Navia
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article applies the debate on the recent emergence of outsider candidates in Latin America to independent presidential candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami (ME-O) in Chile in 2009. We test five competing hypotheses to explain his electoral success. First, his support is explained by the consolidation of democracy, reflected by the disposition of voters to disregard the authoritarian/democratic-aligned candidates. Second, his support is explained by the decline of ideological identification, reflected by the disposition of voters to prefer nontraditional candidates. Third, his support is explained by the resurgence of the Left, reflected by the disposition of voters to identify with anti-Washington Consensus candidates. Fourth, his support is explained by the demand for quick government action, reflected in the predisposition of voters to consider candidates who will solve problems fast even if they do not ask voters for their opinions. Fifth, his support is explained by the declining support for established parties, reflected by the predisposition of voters to favor antisystemic candidates. We use survey data to test these hypotheses. We find no evidence to support the claims that ME-O fits any of the explanations. Though he was widely referred to as an outsider, his success seems to respond to national affairs rather than to a regional pattern.
Topic:
Government and Politics
Political Geography:
Latin America and Chile

8. "Today There Are No Indigenous People" in Chile?: Connecting the Mapuche Struggle to Anti-Neoliberal Mobilizations in South America

Author:
Kevin Funk
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The books under review all deal with the same fundamental phenomenon: mobilization against neoliberal policies by South American indigenous groups. These works fall into two groups: those that focus on the Mapuche struggle in Chile, and those that consider anti-neoliberal indigenous mobilization in the region more broadly. Just as literature in the former group fails to draw any linkages between the Mapuche and other South American indigenous struggles, the latter body of literature does not engage with Chile as a case worthy of consideration. This essay delineates the arguments made by scholars from both groups and argues that they must be brought into dialogue with one another in order to develop both a more holistic conceptualization of the Mapuche struggle in Chile and a more complete understanding of indigenous mobilization in the region. Further empirical work is needed on how Mapuche mobilization relates to other indigenous, anti-neoliberal mobilizations in South America.
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

9. Incumbents without a Campaign Finance Advantage: Competition and Money in Chile's Congressional Elections

Author:
Joel Johnson
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Research from various countries has shown that incumbents in legislative elections raise and spend more money when they face a tougher contest. A statistical analysis of Chilean candidates' campaign finance disclosures shows the opposite: an inverse relationship between incumbent spending and electoral competitiveness. This occurs because Chile's deputies are relatively limited in their influence over policy and pork and because the congressional electoral system makes most competitive contests relevant only to the intra-coalitional balance of power. This account implies that political finance is as much a function of political systems and the supply of contributions as it is candidates' demand for funds, and motivates several hypotheses about campaign finance in Chile. Among others, the analysis confirms that incumbents and challengers compete on a level playing field, spending similar amounts of campaign finance. The paper also illustrates that incumbents and challengers fare equally well in Chile's “secret” donation system.
Political Geography:
Chile

10. Chile's Economic and Political Relationship with China

Author:
Juan Carlos Gachúz
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
China's foreign policy has been characterized in the last decade by a heightened interest in reaching out to Latin America, particularly to countries rich in natural resources and with potential markets for Chinese exports, and Chile is one of these countries. The paper shows that even though the Chilean economy has benefitted from the signing of the FTA, it also faces potential risks. To continue to benefit, Chile needs to boost exports in other potential export sectors (value-added products or services) and should attempt to attract more Chinese FDI to Chile's export industry. The export of raw materials (particularly non-renewable ones) is not always sustainable in the long term. The roles of the Chilean state and the private sector in attracting Chinese investment and enhancing diversification of exports of value-added products are crucial for the future of the economy of Chile and its relationship with China.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
China, Latin America, and Chile